


Here, Together

by boredone27



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Art, Canon: Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, F/M, Fanart, memory sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2016-08-28
Packaged: 2018-07-26 02:32:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7556671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredone27/pseuds/boredone27
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Noah still couldn’t shake the habit of comparing Amestris to Earth. From the color of the sky to the smell of the soil, so much was the same and yet not.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Here, Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JordannaMorgan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JordannaMorgan/gifts).



> Set post Conqueror Of Shamballa, Ed and Al somehow find a way back home and they bring Noah with them.
> 
> This is my first time participating in Rare Pair Fest and I really enjoyed working on this!. Noah and Ed wasn't a pairing I thought much about but your prompts got me rewatching the movie and I came to love Noah and really like them together. The intended main gift is the art, but I really like the story for it so I wrote it out, it's betad by the wonderful [Airheart](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Airheart).

The wind played with her hair and left goosebumps down her arm as it swept past. The midday sun shined high in the sky, bright and hot not unlike her old world’s. Noah still couldn’t shake the habit of comparing Amestris to Earth. From the color of the sky to the smell of the soil, so much was the same and yet not.

They sat in the garden, the sun reflecting off Ed’s metal arm as he carefully drew the array on the ground. Noah watched him in fascination. She tried to remember the books she read, connecting the circle's detail with what she learned. She recognized the symbol for the earth and how the lines were designed, to make sure the energy flowed the right way.

Ed sat back when he finished and he gave the drawing a once-over before grinning in satisfaction.“Watch this,” he said, as he put his hands together and touched the ground at the outer edge of the circle. Noah gasped as it flared to life, each line shining until the whole array glowed. Green plants sprouted from the edge and slowly moved to the center of the circle, where they weaved together to form a ring and, before her eyes, buds grew then bloomed into beautiful blue flowers. When the light had died down, Ed picked up the wreath and gave it to her.

“It’s beautiful,” Noah murmured. No matter how many times Ed showed her what alchemy was capable of, she was always amazed. He kept insisting it was science but Noah couldn’t think of it as anything other than magic.

“It’s a fairly simple transmutation; I gave the seeds already in the ground enough energy so they can sprout and bloom,” Ed said, his eyes turning wistful. “I remember those flowers. Mom loved them so much that she made a special plot and cared for them everyday. She taught us how to make flower rings with them, too.”

Noah had seen her from Ed’s memories and the photos around the house—the woman with brown hair and gentle eyes who had loved Ed and Al so dearly that they committed a taboo just to see her smile again. Ed looked around the small garden fondly then pointed at a small plot in the corner, his eyes far away. “Over there. Me and Al used to compete to see who can make the best flower crown for Mom.”

“Can I see?”

It was an impulsive question, born only from her curiosity. Ed blinked at her, surprised, then held out his hand as she almost apologized. Slowly, Noah reached back, and her fingers softly laced with his. Images filled her mind as their skin touched.

She felt his grip on her hand tighten and they both leaned in until they were close enough that she could feel his breath on her face. She looked into his gentle golden eyes then closed her own. Slowly images flooded her head, blurry then gradually they cleared; Ed's memories had always been more vivid to her than most people’s even when he was not sleeping. 

The garden in the past was much richer than in the present with all kinds of vegetables and flowers growing in carefully arranged plots. Ripe fruits hung on the branches, showing the owner's care and love. Warmth permeated the air, gathering in front of the patch of blue flowers where two young boys and a woman sat. The boys were both concentrating on something in their hands while the woman smiled gently at them, love and pride shining in her eyes.

Memories were always silent but Noah could easily imagine one boy’s triumphant cry as he held out his finished flower crown, his brother following soon after. One by one their mother inspected the crowns then congratulated them and pulled them both into her arms. Happiness surrounded them, bits of Ed’s feelings she could feel along with droplets of sadness and regret, but the negative emotions were easily drowned out by happier ones.

It was calm and peaceful, it was what home felt like.

Noah let out a happy sigh as the feeling washed over her. She dared open her eyes a fraction to see Ed still looking at her, smiling softly. 

“I was always the faster one, but Al’s was always more beautiful. He had an eye for details and color. Mom would praise us both and even wear our crowns at the same time,” he whispered. She watched him, content and happy, so different from when they were still at the other world.

The sound of footsteps then Al opening the side door startled them both. Alphonse blinked at their position, surprised then he smiled, amusement in his eyes.

“Sorry to interrupt. I’ll prepare lunch, you two can continue with whatever you were doing.”

Noah felt heat raising in her cheeks, mirroring Ed’s blush as he stuttered trying to explain that he was just teaching her alchemy; their hands still clasped together. She quickly cast a glance around, surveying where the tomato plants had been in the past, now overtaken with wide grass.

Ed and Al had returned here a few weeks ago, and they had fixed the house but the garden remain untouched. Noah thought of the memory and how alive the place had been, and an idea bloomed in her head.

“In your memory, the garden was beautiful. Your mother must have taken care of it well,” she said.

“Yeah, we had one of the best around and she loved it very much,” Ed said, he looked at her curiously. The question was on Noah’s tongue but she hesitated. This was not her home, not her place to decide. But she longed to see the liveliness and feel the warmth in that memory, the happiness that Ed had treasured so much.

“I was wondering – if it would be fine to make it like that again. We can grow vegetables and flowers, like your mother did, I mean.”

Ed squeezed her hand and looked straight in her eyes as he said, “I think it’s a great idea. We still have tools in the house and we can borrow what we lack from Granny.” He gave her one of his biggest grins. “Mom would love it. We can work together. You, me and Al.”

The autumn sun was bright as it shone on them and the little house, and Noah felt her heart warm.


End file.
